ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2259 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2259 ************************************ 14 Mar 2001 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether was used as a feminine given name in our period, particularly in France or the British Isles between 1200 and 1450. (The slash in the name represents an acute accent mark on the 'i'.) You explained that you want a name suitable for a French or Anglo-Irish woman, and mentioned that you had considered the name . You also asked our evaluation of your heraldic design, "Vair, a stag statant argent on a pile inverted gules." Here is what we have found. As best we can determine, was not used as a feminine name until modern times, and even today it is quite rare. The modern French word (with an accent mark on the 'e' rather than the 'i') is masculine; the feminine form is . The modern use of as a feminine name probably originated in English as a pet form of the equally modern names or [1]. However, there was a similar medieval French name. It appears in England as in 1194, in Paris and elsewhere in France as in the 13th century, and in France as 1355. Most of these women were Jews, but the 13th century French example was a Christian. The name probably derived from a feminine form of the Old French word "precious, dear, beloved" [2, 3]. In 13th century French it would have been pronounced \TCHAYR-@\, where \@\ represents the sound of the 'a' in and . This appears to have been a very rare name among Christians, but it is a plausible choice for a Christian woman in France in the 12th-14th centuries. It requires more speculation to imagine that was used by Christians in England or in the English communities of Ireland, but it is not impossible. You explained that you constructed by combining a name similar to with an Anglo-Irish surname and a Scottish Gaelic adaptation of in an effort to show family relations in both Scotland and Ireland. Multiple surnames weren't used in this manner in medieval English. However, forms of do appear in 14th century Anglo-Irish records: and [4]. In that period, the surname was pronounced \BOHT-@-lair\. If we accept the speculation that was used among Christian women in medieval England, then would be a plausible 13th or 14th century Anglo-Irish name. However, we can't recommend the given name as good re-creation: If you want a likely name for a medieval Anglo-Irish woman, then you would do better to choose a different given name. If you particularly want to place your persona in Ireland, you might want to consider Irish Gaelic culture. There were a couple Gaelic feminine names that may appeal to you: and , pronounced \KEE@R\ and \KEHR-@\ [5]. Irish Gaelic naming customs were quite different from English customs, and Gaelic grammar and pronunciation are tricky; so if you're interested in pursuing the possibilities, we recommend you start by reading this article: Quick and Easy Gaelic Bynames http://www.MedievalScotland.org/scotnames/quickgaelicbynames/ Write us if you have any questions. The pile inverted wasn't really used in medieval British heraldry. In fact, we suspect you're not really drawing a pile: A pile is a very narrow triangle, and a stag placed on it would be very tiny. If the angle at the tip of your triangle is closer to 90 degrees, then what you've drawn is better described as "Per chevron vair and gules, in base a stag statant argent." The difference is illustrated below; the ASCII drawings are rather crude, but we hope they're clear enough. .-----------------. .-----------------. | | | | | | | | . | | | | | | / \ | | | | | | / \ | | | | | | / \ | ` | | ' ` / \ ' ` | | ' ` / \ ' ` | | ' ` / \ ' \ | | / \ / `. | | .' `. .' `-. .-' `-. .-' `v' `v' a pile inverted per chevron If we're right and you're drawing "Per chevron", then you've got a pretty good re-creation of medieval English heraldry. Unfortunately, your design cannot be registered with the SCA College of Arms, as it is too similar to previously-registered armory [6]. Here are some other designs typical of English and French heraldry in your period that we think may appeal to you. As far as we can tell, you could register any of them with the SCA College of Arms. Argent, three stags statant azure. Argent, three stags statant gules. Vair, three stags statant gules. Gules, a stag statant argent and a chief vair. We hope this letter has been useful. Please write us again if any part of it has been unclear or if you have other questions. I was assisted in researching and writing this letter by Adelaide de Beaumont, Talan Gwynek, Julie Stampnitzky, Zenobia Naphtali, and Juliana de Luna. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 14 Mar 2001 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Dunkling, Leslie and William Gosling, _The New American Dictionary of First Names_ (New York: Signet Books, 1983), s.n. Cheri. [2] Colm Dubh, "An Index to the Given Names in the 1292 Census of Paris", Proceedings of the Known World Heraldic Symposium 1996 (SCA: Montgomery, Alabama; WWW: SCA, Inc., 1997). This source lists the name as , with an accent grave on the first 'e'. That form of accent was not used in medieval French; it is a modern editorial addition. http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/paris.html [3] Seror, Simon, _Les Noms des Juifs de France au Moyen Age_ (Paris: Editions du Centre national de la recherche scientifique, 1989), s.n. Che/re. [4] Jones, Heather Rose (aka Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn), "Names and Naming Practices in the Red Book of Ormond" (SCA, Inc: Known World Heraldic Symposium Proceedings, Tir Ysgithir, 1998; WWW: J. Mittleman, 1999). http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/tangywystl/lateirish [5] O/ Corra/in, Donnchadh and Fidelma Maguire, _Irish Names_ (Dublin: The Lilliput Press, 1990), s.nn. Cera, Ciar. [6] Your design is too similar to the arms of Gianni Arcieri: Per fess azure and bendy sable and argent, a stag at gaze argent. There is one difference counted for the changes to the field, but nothing for the displacement of the stag from chief to base, since that move is required by the changes to the field (a stag argent could not be placed on the half-argent part of the field in either design).